


Between the Lines

by FoxQuill (notoneforreality)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 70s Slang, 80s slang, British Slang, F/M, Gen, Letters, M/M, Owl Post, Owls, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Period-Typical Sexism, Wizarding World
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-29 22:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10145438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notoneforreality/pseuds/FoxQuill
Summary: Sometimes things are easier when they're written down. Sometimes things are easier when they're left hidden between the lines.[[Title and Summary subject to change]]Warnings: This work contains period-typical vocabulary which some readers may not be comfortable with in the context of both slurs and colloquial language. Please check chapter notes for more information.





	

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A window is smashed, an argument is had, sights are seen, friends are made. Meanwhile, letters are exchanged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Problematic vocab.: fag (used to refer to cigarettes)

_Moony_

_Prongs is lying I didn't do anything the window just happened to smash by itself._

_Anyway._

_How goes it in Italy? I know you're Dante's number one fan, have you been to his house yet? He's from Florence, isn't he? That was the first ever book I saw you reading, do you remember? On the Hogwarts Express all those years ago when I was looking for a spare compartment. And then James turned up and went on and on about how he was going to be an amazing Gryffindor like his beloved father and I thought maybe I could too._

_He and Dad are arguing at the moment. Dad found the fags and the booze and James wouldn't let me take some of the blame. They've been screaming at each other on and off for the past week so if communication on that front is sporadic then you know why. Don't mention it to him, though. Mum and I are staying out of it._

_Apart from that, quidditch practice is pretty useless with two people but we've invented a way to play with two people and we think we can get it to work with the four of us. There're no bludgers cause Mum banned them after I came in with a bruise the size of bloody Gringotts on my head. So the quaffle and the snitch and two people juggling both balls and the singular hoop. Chaos, as you can probably imagine (stop rolling your eyes, Moony, it's wicked)._

_Wormy's coming over at the start of August for two weeks, are you planning on rejoining us anytime soon? When are you back from the continent? I hope you do, it's no fun without you. Don't tell Prongs I said that._

_I still haven't told him._

_I still think you need to be here for that._

_On a similar note, I actually did some research for once (you're a bad influence on me Remus) and it was '67. Nine years._

_Right, well, James and Dad have stopped shouting for now so I better take advantage of the lull and drag Prongs down to Machellia's bar so he doesn't try and hex him at dinner (stop rolling your eyes, I already told you. Anyway, I'm out of any other ideas. If you have some, help would be much appreciated. For now I'll continue to dull his senses with firewhiskey and dragonhops)._

_Ciao and all that lot_

_Padfoot_

* * *

_Sirius,_

_Prongs has said nothing about a window, so really you've only got yourself to blame because now I've asked him about it._

_Back to the rest of the news._

_Italy is great, thanks. And yes, I have been to Dante's house. We went on our day in Florence which was ace. Why shouldn't I be a fan of Dante? He invented the Italian language. Which you thought made you so superior when you came in and saw me reading it in English. Why was it you said? "Non pwoy leger lo in italiano?" I still have no idea what it means and Esposito still won't tell me. (How much are you paying that kid? Bribery can't solve everything Padfoot.) Ah that fateful first journey. If it hadn't happened, we wouldn't have been stuck with you for the past five years. I'm glad, though. Otherwise you would have been stuck in Slytherin and we would have had to hate you on principle._

_Details with the cigarettes and alcohol: how did Monty find them? I told you it was a stupid idea to keep them in Prongs' bedroom. How has Mia taken it? I know she's not enamoured of smoking. You said she's staying out of it but she must have an opinion._

_With regards to quidditch, try not to lose any more brain cells by getting conked in the head again, you haven't got any to spare. I agree with Mia about the bludgers. How are you managing with the snitch with only two people? Have you lost it yet? It wouldn't be the first time. If you played when you can actually see beyond the end of your broomstick, you might have more of a chance of keeping an eye on it._

_I've still got two weeks in France to go but then I'll be back and you'll wish I were still on holiday; Mum and Dad want to go stay at the house in Kettering which means a muggle town full of kids who think they’re so smart because they worked out how to sneak out of their bedroom window. That Jack Pritchard is going to be there these hols as well and I can’t stand him. Either way, the point is I’ll be spending a lot of time in places that aren’t Kettering and where better than a Potter mansion. Also the issue with living together at a boarding school for most of the year is that any time away feels like forever._

_I haven’t told him either._

_Yeah we should probably do it together. I’m just not looking forward to his reaction, is all. There are about twelve possible scenarios and only one of them actually goes well._

_Nine years seems long but I suppose in legal terms it’s not very. We just have to keep working and see what we can do. If we ever get around to talking to Prongs, the one scenario that goes well will probably end up with some sort of radical action against the Ministry._

_So. Good luck with James. Normally I’d suggest making them talk but the Potters aren’t exactly the best at that. Please try at least not to give him alcohol poisoning. We’re just about to start packing up to move out of this house tomorrow morning, so I better go, but write soon and try not to cover the parchment in spilt ink next time, git._

_Arrivederci Signor Poncy Prick,_

_Remus_

* * *

_Moony_

_James is a git and totally started the fight and that’s the last I’ll say on the window incident. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll do the same._

_I gave Mercury the day off because continental deliveries are apparently not his strong point, so by the time you get this, you’ll be in France. How is la terre d’amour? Have you been up the Eiffel Tower yet? The view is great, but it’s better with omnioculars. If you haven’t been up already I’ll send you mine. They charge about twenty galleons too much up there. The Seine is great but don’t fall in the water’s gross (and Regulus is a wanker who gets away with everything even when he stands there with a spare fucking life jacket in his hand while I nearly drown in sewage water)._

_Also the cigs and moonshine (there’s an American girl staying in the village and I’m of course obliged to flirt so I’ve been learning new slang. Prongs is almost as good at it as me but I’m the one she keeps staring at) were possibly my fault. James told me to hide them when we came back in on Thursday from sitting on the roof but you know I’m shit at disillusionment charms so I just stuffed them in the wardrobe. Only James had borrowed a tie off Dad for his date and Dad decided that he just had to wear this tie to work so he came and got it. And even though this is all my fault, the stubborn git keeps telling Dad I didn’t know anything. Mum just said she hoped we weren’t stupid enough to smoke around the lower years, but she had the Disappointed Face on, so she wasn’t happy. They weren’t fighting today but they also weren’t speaking. Can’t tell as yet whether this is an improvement or not. Will keep you in the loop._

_So I mentioned Americans and dates. Well, there’s been a rush at the inn down in the village and about half of them are wizards. We’ve been palling around with Nancy the most--she’s the American one, muggle--but Jamie managed to get a date with a witch in her last year at that Ilvermorny. She said she’s in ‘Horned Serpent’ which, as far as we can make out, means Ravenclaw, basically. James told her we're going into our last year of being Gryffindors at Hogwarts and after some debate she said we'd be in Thunderbird in America, which sounds pretty bad. Her brother is here too, and he's two years older and a proper hippie. His hair is longer than mine and he's got a beard and flared jeans bigger than my plate on the first day back at school, paired with a brown waist coat with faux-leather because he's 'like, a friend to the animals, man' and we're pretty sure he's always high. We haven't decided whether it's X or skrewt skulls yet, but his eyes are redder than our bloody robes and he talks a load of bollocks besides._

_Not that I don't want you back but when you come back we have to tell Prongs and I'm not really looking forward to it. How much longer have you got in France and how long are you planning on leaving it between getting back to England and getting up here? If you tell me when you get back I might be able to foist James onto Janice (his American skirt) and get away to meet you in Kettering. If that moron Pritchard says anything I'll bash him._

_Au revoir_

_Paddy_

_P. S. ‘Non pwoy leger lo in italiano’. Really? Non puoi leggerlo in italiano you uncultured sod. And for the record Esposito is perfectly happy to keep his mouth shut for the small fee of two chocolate frogs per Hogwarts Express journey. Although, again, really? You’ve only asked a fourth year Hufflepuff. I’m disappointed in your research skills, Moony_

_P. P. S. What about Evans?_

* * *

_Sirius,_

_Alright, tosser, we get it. You can speak fancy languages. Not all of us had classical homeschooling from the age of four. You're just lucky that 'La terre d'amour' is plastered over every other tourist sign and souvenir out here, because if you had left me with some more un-translateable bollocks we would have had an issue. Omnioculars would be much appreciated. We've been up once already but Mum and Dad are planning to go up again and I'm not paying twenty five galleons to use the bloody things once. The view is ace enough without them, though. We could see for miles. Imagine flying around the top of the Eiffel Tower. I bet you'd be breaking about seven separate laws of the Statute, but it would almost be worth it. You'll be pleased to know that I have enjoyed the Seine from above water-level only._

_Several points to make on your third paragraph: 'James is almost as good at it as ~I~', Pads, have you learnt nothing about grammar?; you're not staring back at her, are you? cheeky git; punctuation exists—give it a try sometime; on James and Monty not speaking, give it two more days and if it's cold silence then leave it, if it's electric silence let me know and we'll work something out._

_(I just re-read your first letter (shut up I’m not drippy) and you got busted with alcohol so you went and got James mortal. What sort of sense does that make?)_

_Your adventures with various American females sound thrilling. Another possible explanation for Nancy's staring is that you've got dirt on your nose, have you checked. Poor Janice, you'll have to warn her off soon but for now send more details. Her brother sounds like a card but don't let him tip half a salamander spliff into your drink. I bet he's all about free love as well, isn't he. Can you get a photo? I could do with a laugh._

_Definitely escape to Kettering first so we can work out what we're going to say. We need to work out whether we're doing it one by one, or telling them both at the same time. And we need to work out what we're going to say. And where we're going to go if it all goes to shit._

_Salut Monsieur Toff,_

_Remus_

_P. S. How can you manage to use perfect Italian and godawful English in the same bloody sentence? And who else could I ask. I thought Giovanni Esposito was the only Italian in Hogwarts._

_P. P. S. What do you mean 'What about Evans'. Context Sirius. Use your words._

* * *

_Moony_

_Be lucky you don’t have classical schooling, it’s a load of old bollocks. I borrowed Oxford off of James to carry the omnioculars because Mercury pitched a fit and nearly bit my hand off when I tried to tell him I wanted this letter and the bow with the omnioculars on the flip side of the Channel. Boss idea about the flying around the tower, but I suppose you’d bottle it if we tried. No one would catch us if we did--we’re the Marauders, we don’t get caught._

_Regarding my ‘grammatical inadequacy’ as you so eloquently put it when you were talking behind my back to Prong--no one cares, bloody swot. James and Dad actually said good morning to each other at breakfast, so we don’t need to worry about them crowning and blowing the house up. And James wasn’t fubar, he was barely sozzled. Lia gave us Sober Shots before we went home anyway, so Mum and Dad think we were just hanging around with Nancy and Jan. Speaking of--found out Nancy’s cousin Jackie came to stay with her. You know, the sort of cousin that looks nothing like her at all, stands far too close and is all starry as soon as no one’s looking. I was thinking of telling them but I thought I’d check with you first. They’re staying for another two months anyway, so you’ll probably meet them at some point. You’ll likely meet Jan’s brother, too, because they’re not leaving until the last week of August. He tried to pull Mum the other day (‘age is just a number, man, and marriage is a meaningless construction of The Man’). She nearly hexed him into next week._

_Owl me as soon as you get home and I’ll drop James and use the floo in Dad’s study._

_Got to go, Prongs wants to show the Yanks how we play football, even though he’s a duff at footie_

_Pad_

_P. S. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. I’m not telling you jack_

_P. P. S. Telling Evans, tosser. She’d be possibly three degrees less pissed than Prongs and possibly an ally. I don’t know. She likes you, not so much sure about me_

* * *

_Sirius,_

_Thanks for the omnioculars; I’ll send Oxford back with James’ letter once I’ve finished writing it. If we fly around one of the most popular landmarks in Europe, we will get caught. Marauders or no. Just because we get away with stuff in Hogwarts, doesn’t mean we’ll get away with stuff in the real world. Besides, they probably won’t even let us come back to Azkaban, just keep us locked up in Pigé. Do you want to end up wasting away in a prison where you can’t even speak the language? Don’t answer that._

_Other matters: I’m glad Monty and James haven’t set fire to the house yet. Try not to do anything else to provoke them. Lia is an enabler who needs talking to. You can tell Nancy and Jackie--because I’m fairly sure you’ll explode if you don’t tell someone now we’ve mentioned it--as long as they don’t give everything away the second I get there. Does Jan’s brother have a name because I need to make note of this and get him to do it again so I can watch._

_I’ve only got two more days now so save Mercury another few trips and don’t reply to this letter. I’ll borrow Screech from Dad when we get to Kettering._

_Soon,_

_Remus_

_P. S. Fuck you, git._

_P. P. S. Good idea, actually. I hadn’t thought of it really. We can talk about it when I’m home._

* * *

_Pads,_

_Just got back to the house. Can you get away about two-ish? I’ll keep the floo free in the back room--Mum and Dad are having Mr and Mrs Pritchard to visit in the front room (Jack’s not invited). Tell Mia; she won’t tell James._

_Moony_


End file.
